Launched from California on March 1, 1984, Landsat-5 has circled Earth more than 150,000 times.

According to the USGS, which helps manage the mission, the satellite has been an extraordinary success, providing valuable contributions to the global record of land change.

Its original mission was only supposed to last three years, but Landsat-5 continued to deliver imagery and data for more than 25 more years beyond that.

The satellite experienced a number of problems over the years, but scientists and technicians managed to bring it back from the brink of failure.

This image of the abandoned city of Pripyat, home to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was taken by Landsat-5 three days after the April 26, 1986, nuclear accident. (NASA)

However, the recent failure of one of its gyroscopes proved to be one problem too many, finally bringing Landsat-5′s decades-long mission to an end.

“This is the end of an era for a remarkable satellite, and the fact that it flew for almost three decades is a testament to the NASA engineers and the USGS team who launched it and kept it flying well beyond its expected lifetime,” said Anne Castle, Department of the Interior assistant secretary for Water and Science. “The Landsat program is the gold standard of satellite observation, providing an invaluable public record of our planet that helps us tackle critical land, water, and environmental issues.”

Over more than a quarter of a century, Landsat-5 observed and sent back Earth imagery and data reflecting the many changes which have taken place on our planet, not only from natural hazards and a changing climate, but also due to land use practices.

Image taken by Landsat-5 in 1991 shows inky-black smoke pouring from burning oil wells which were set afire by defeated Iraqi military forces as they retreated from Kuwait. (NASA)

“Any major event since 1984 that left a mark on this Earth larger than a football field was likely recorded by Landsat-5, whether it was a hurricane, a tsunami, a wildfire, deforestation, or an oil spill,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “We look forward to a long and productive continuation of the Landsat program, but it is unlikely there will ever be another satellite that matches the outstanding longevity of Landsat-5.”

Landsat-5 observations have helped increase our understanding and awareness of the impact humans have on the land, according to the USGS.